Sefton Central Labour MP Bill Esterson backs Sefton Labour's bid

A consultation had been held on the possibility of charging £46 per year for green bin collections as one way of making up for the £324.5m which the Tory-Lib Dem government has cut from Sefton's budget.

The cuts made in Sefton are some of the largest in the country and are in sharp contrast with wealthier Tory voting parts of the country especially in the south where councils have faced hardly any cuts at all.

But Sefton's Labour Councillors are looking at ways to avoid charging for the green bin service despite the huge cuts made by the Tories and Lib Dems.

However, while they are doing all they can to mitigate the worst effects of the Tory-Lib Dem cuts, the latest Tory-Lib Dem comprehensive spending review slashed another 10% from Sefton's budget and showed just how hard that task is going to be.

Bill Esterson said: "The proposed green bin charge was something that was being forced on Sefton by the Tory-Lib Dem Government's cuts.

"But Labour Councillors on Sefton Council are doing all they can to try and avoid passing the burden of the Tory-Lib Dem cuts onto Sefton's residents, particularly at a time when money is already tight.

"Lots of people rely on the green bin waste collections to clear away their garden rubbish. Sefton's green bin collection service is excellent and has helped us here in Sefton to increase our recycling levels. It is a service that we should not allow the Tories and Lib Dems take away.

"The Tory-Lib Dem cuts are not only damaging our council services, they are damaging our environment and they are hurting the people of Sefton."

Bill said Sefton's funding blackhole had become even greater after last week's Tory-Lib Dem comprehensive spending review - directly threatening even more services in the borough and throughout the country.

Bill said: "Since the last General Election when the Tories and Lib Dems came together, Sefton has had more than £324m cut from its budget. The Tories and Lib Dems announced last Wednesday that they are going to cut even further.

"We are getting to the stage now where statutory services in Sefton are under threat because of the cuts.

"The Tories and Lib Dems are forcing Sefton into making drastic cuts to services and it is the council tax payer who will suffer, particularly those who rely on council services. The Tories and Lib Dems know this only too well, but they are willing to cut further and further. And at the same time councils in the wealthiest Tory and Lib Dem voting areas are not having to make cuts.

"I am confident that the Labour Councillors on Sefton Council will continue to do all they can to mitigate the impact of the Tory-Lib Dem cuts in Sefton. But they face an impossible position.

"It really is the case that in Sefton we are all in this together as the Tories and Lib Dems continue their attacks on ordinary people. But that most definitely is not the case in the leafy suburbs.

"This government is asking the poorest areas of the country including Mereyside to make the greatest contribution and is most clear when it comes to a criminally high level of cuts in local government, especially in Sefton."